Everything In This World
By Viv
Author's Notes:
A huge thank you to my shiny new beta Filly! I've never had one before and never knew how cool it was to have someone to bang ideas off, read rough drafts and constructively criticise with so much fervour, intelligence and enthusiasm. Thank you! *s*
Also, thanks to everyone who read this story and are nice enough to leave reviews here. I truly appreciate it, and I'm really glad that you're enjoying it.
*~*~ Part Twenty-Eight ~*~*
Chloe propped her chin in her hands, gazing at the irresistible sight of Lex eating potato chips in front of her.
Firstly it was irresistible simply because it was Lex. Secondly, it was irresistible because of the slightly bizarre fact that Lex was sitting here, in her house, doing something as mundane as trying to balance a bunch of figures on his notebook while looking like he had just stepped out of an Armani photo shoot. And thirdly - did she even need a thirdly? Just knowing that Lex was in front of her, with her, should have been reason enough for her intense stare-a-thon, never mind the telltale licking of her lips and the slightly flustered look on her face, which gave beyond reasonable doubt evidence to anyone within a five mile radius that she was having less-than-pure thoughts about the handsome billionaire-to-be sitting opposite her.
Lex munched away absently, his hand already snaking out to grab another handful of chips, completely oblivious to her non-virginal roller-coaster ride of thoughts.
The past couple of months had been weird but liberating as hell. After the initial chorus of 'what the hell's from almost every man, woman and unborn child in Smallville at the Chloe and Lex thing, it had pretty much simmered down to open season for all and sundry. Chloe was actually quite impressed with the narrow-mindedness and the small town attitudes that pervaded her so called neighbours; even more impressive was the admirable restraint that her dad and Lex had showed in not carving up said narrow minded people into small biteable chunks and feeding them back to their own produce.
It had been weird too because Chloe had found herself spending so much time with Lex that it wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility for any visually challenged person to mistake them for being lojacked to each other. For Chloe, who had always been a pretty single-minded individual set on her own ways, it had been a shock for her system to realise that being around another living, breathing person so much was actually quite a pleasant experience.
But despite the wonderfulness that she had attached to the very thought of the Lex and Chloe relationship express, there had been a growing but persistent thought at the back of her mind about what exactly she had with Lex. Sure they spent copious amounts of time in each other's company doing all sorts of wacky and normal things, alternately irritating and making each other laugh, but Chloe was forced to admit that even after these couple of months she didn't know whether she really even knew the real Lex.
Sure he was nice, and caring and all the wonderful and fantastic things a proper boyfriend ought to be. But when it all boiled down to it, Chloe was as unsure about Lex's feelings for her as she was about her love-hate relationship with double choc-chip fudge ice-cream.
Without looking up from the flickering screen in front of him, Lex said in irritation. "Quit staring Chloe. If you have something to say to me, say it." He slammed the keyboard in frustration. "Why doesn't this add up?"
She looked askance at him, and slightly annoyed at the way he was speaking to her. After all, it wasn't her fault that chemistry genius Lex didn't know how to add up properly. It wasn't like she was some super geek creature like Clark who could compute whole numbers in his head while munching on home grown produce and managing to look mopey at the same time.
He sighed, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry Chloe. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."
"You bet your ass you shouldn't have." She smiled devilishly, already forgiving him as she reached over to steal a potato chip from his grasp. She munched on it playfully, watching the play of emotions on Lex's face as his irritation gave way to a resigned indulgence.
That was what she kind of really liked about Lex. He was like a very complicated puzzle, showing you pieces of himself that never really fit together, partly because his emotions were capable of changing instantaneously from one moment to the next. Chloe knew something about being moody and volatile, but even she wasn't able to quite piece Lex together. He was an enigma, although a powerfully attractive and gorgeous enigma at that.
"Seriously. What's gotten you so peeved that you had to all Godfather on your extremely pricey notebook that, by the way, I'd commit murder to have?"
Lex sighed, closing the notebook gently. "Trust me Chloe, you don't want to hear about this." He sighed once more, running a hand through his scalp. "Let's just say that running a fertiliser plant isn't as exciting as it appears to be."
Chloe's brows shot heavenwards as she tittered. "Okay. Firstly? I'm not sure which planet you're from, but where I live running a fertiliser plant is about as far away as you can get from excitement. Secondly, let's not forget the tiny but significant detail that my dad's the plant manager, and let's just say he's regaled me with stories that I'd rather not think about in the presence of food." She smiled ruefully. "Thirdly, why don't you try me? I may not be an economics genius, but it might help if you talked it out."
He shook his head as he gathered his hastily scrawled notes into a bundle. "You wouldn't understand." He said off-handedly.
Chloe's face fell as her good mood dropped out of her stomach. She looked away, trying to hide the rising tide of hurt and resentment that coursed through her being. She knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her, but his remark had been callous and she had expected more from him than that.
Maybe that was the problem, she asked herself silently. Maybe she expected too much from him.
She was suddenly frightened by the possibility that in her mind, Lex was pretty much flawless. He was older, much more worldlier, and despite her occasionally snarky attitude and cynical view of the world, she knew that she was still pretty much the poster child for naivety, something that couldn't be helped growing up in a small country town. He was also more intelligent and devious than she could ever hope to be, all of which suggested to her slightly warped mind that he was a whole lot better than her and hence, able to do no wrong in her eyes.
Did she really think of him that way? She had accused Clark of idolising Lana from afar for so many years, secure in the knowledge that she could never be anything as lame as that, but - had she turned into Clark redux? Was Lex perfect and able to do no wrong in her eyes?
Because that would have been the lamest thought in the history of Chloe-time.
She looked up to catch him studying her, studying the way the hurt flickered across her eyes. His own eyes widened in understanding. "Oh - Chloe, I didn't -" She cut him off, abruptly standing and sending her pile of chemistry notes toppling over the table in the process. "You know I didn't mean it like that."
She shrugged his apology off, bending down and hurriedly gathered her notes that had been strewn haphazardly across the linoleum floor. Chloe kept her head down, blinking back tears that had no good reason to fall and therefore wouldn't, even if Chloe had to use all her energy to keep them from cascading down in the style of the Niagra Falls.
She was so lame sometimes, she chastised herself silently. One minute she was being all moony and sentimental, the next minute she had convinced herself that her world was about to end and suddenly, she was craving ice cream like there was no fat-free tomorrow.
Lex quickly rounded the table and hauled her gently to her feet. She found herself clutching the pile of notes to her chest like a child, a security blanket against the intense gaze that Lex was now fixing on her.
"Chloe." His voice was slightly husky in desperation, compelling her to meet his unwaveringly cool blue eyes. "I'm sorry, it shouldn't have come out like that -"
"No." She shook her head, tucking her fly away blond hair behind her ears almost absently. "It's okay ... You're right." She looked him full in the eyes, not blanching at the openness of his expression and the tightness around his eyes. "I wouldn't understand." She laughed tightly. "You know me and business. I pretty much suck at economics, plus I've never had to run a plant before. It was a stupid thing to suggest."
Why was it only in times of stress that Lex Luthor felt comfortable enough around her to let go of his defences? Why was it only when she was hurt did he feel safe enough to let her see what he was really feeling?
Lex sighed, regret gracing his smooth face as he studied his clasped hands in agitation. Chloe followed his gaze as his fingers fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth, surprised that he was showing such an anxious affectation. Lex was usually so controlled, so enigmatic that for a second it took her breath away to realise that maybe, he was a human being after all. An extremely rich human being, but one who felt uncertainty and anger and regret just like the next guy. And just like the next guy, he was capable of saying or doing stupid things just because he was a member of the male species, which Chloe reflected was reason enough as it was to say a stupid thing or two.
Her eyes searched his downcast face. He looked tired and bone weary, and Chloe realised that he must have been under enormous pressure at the Plant and at LuthorCorp, no doubt brought on by his father in some shape or form. Lionel Luthor had been pretty much physically incapacitated since that fateful night when the tornadoes had struck Smallville, but he was still very much mentally capable of tormenting Lex from afar.
Her heart softened, and her face melted from one of extreme injury to resigned contriteness. Never let it be said that Chloe Sullivan was an unforgiving girl, even if she had a temper comparable to a nuclear explosion. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - let's just forget it." She forced herself to smile, an expression that grew warmer and gentler as she watched its effect on Lex unfurl across his face.
Did she really have the power to affect him that much? When had that significant development happened? And why wasn't she paged about it?
Chloe mentally scribbled an internal memo to herself, promising to come back to that particular fact later. Right now she just wanted to concentrate on Lex and undo whatever badness that had momentarily descended between them. She guessed that it had been too much to ask for their insane happiness to last forever; frankly she was surprised that it had lasted for as long as two months.
Chloe laughed quietly, embarrassment colouring her face. "Did that qualify as our first official fight?"
Her expression caused Lex to chuckle as he lifted cool blue eyes to meet hers in a soft gaze. "I don't think that was really much of a fight Chloe. More like ... an unpleasant disagreement." His smile grew wider as it transformed into a knowing smirk.
"Oh, like disagreements can be pleasant?" She retorted, enjoying their verbal duelling once again.
He conceded her point as his stance melted away into one of complete confidence. "Point taken. Now," he drew her close to his own body, wrapping his arms around her small frame and audibly inhaling the scent of her freshly washed air. "I've got another matter to take up with you, Miss Sullivan."
Chloe raised her brow questioningly, slightly lost in the sensation that Lex's arms aroused within her.
"I heard from two very reliable sources that you weren't going to a certain junior prom this year."
"Uh-huh." She nodded in acknowledgment, the smile fading slightly off her face. She untangled herself slightly from his arms so that she could tilt her face to meet his scrutinising gaze. "And would those two very reliable sources consist of the Clark Kent and Lana Lang tag team?"
"I don't like to reveal my sources." Lex smirked, his eyes revealing a come hither look that served to arouse and distract Chloe from the matter at hand. Damn his sexy charm. "Mind if I ask why you don't want to go?"
Chloe sighed, untangling herself fully from his hold. "I figured I'd quit while I was ahead." He looked questioningly down at her, and she elaborated. "After the whole prom debacle last year I figured I wouldn't try my luck a second time. Everything's cool now and that's the way I want it to stay. You know me and proms -"
"I know you and one prom." Lex interjected forcefully. "It's not going to happen again Chloe. I promise."
She laughed derisively. "God I hope not. Clark would kill you for one thing." The smile drained off her face. "Lex, I don't need to spend copious amounts of my dad's hard earned money outfitting myself in something that could potentially make the fashion police come after me for crimes against high fashion. I don't need to dress up like some airhead and validate myself in front of the entire school with expensive hair and shoes and make-up."
"But it'd be fun." Lex argued vainly.
"Ah - fun? In which warped universe did you come from? Because I wouldn't exactly describe a lame high school prom as fun. Especially for you." She emphasised quietly. "I know what you're trying to do Lex but - you don't have to. Not everything's about conquering past demons or whatever. I'm cool with just staying in and hanging out. With you, hopefully."
"Chloe I'm not trying to be heroic. I really think you'd have fun." He looked down at her quietly. "You only get to go to high school once in your life and after that, you'll wish that you could go back and enjoy those simpler times again." Her eyes trailed his soft skin to the juncture of his throat, watching as he swallowed visibly. "Trust me, I've been there. You won't know what you've missed until it's too late." He gingerly traced a slender finger down the contours of her face as she looked down at her with softly shining eyes. "Let me take you to the prom, okay?"
Chloe wavered between outright disagreement and buckling under his softly gentle gaze. "Okay." She whispered finally.
After all, what sane person would refuse Lex Luthor when he looked at you like you were the only person in the world, Chloe reflected in the dim recesses of her mind. She just hoped that he was right, and that nothing bad would come out of it. She shuddered to think what would happen and history repeated itself. She didn't think she could handle another crushing disappointment in whatever form it took.
(c) September 2002